Insightful book on Russia

I found Miller's previous book, The Struggle To Save The Soviet Economy to be an excellent explanation for why the USSR broke up. Now Miller explains what has happened since and enables one to understand the constraints within which Russian policy makers operate.

Putin has to put stability ahead of economic efficiency. Though he's well aware of which policies would boost economic development and he tries to pursue them within the limits imposed by the need for political stability.

I am surprised that the Russian government only collects 15% GDP in taxes or that corruption is not the top concern of Russian businesses. Also, the need to please pensioners is a major concern.

It doesn't seem likely to me that a different leader, selected by a more democratic process, would govern Russia better. Rather, I would expect big budget deficits if a leader had an ever greater need to cater to public opinion.

5 people found this helpful

Go find something better

Russia's economy revolves around oil. Congrats, I just saved you 8 hours of your life. if you're expecting to learn something new/interesting about Russia, lower your expectations; like a lot.

4 people found this helpful

Illuminating, pre-2022 look at Russian government

I really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of how the Russian government manages society. They use a combination of a bloated welfare system and periodic crackdowns to maintain order. At least until recently.

interesting

gives a good big picture view of Putin's political, economic, and geopolitical strategy and his governing coalition and tactics. names quite objectively both the successes, failures, and limits of his regime of the past couple decades.

Report up to 2018, elementary economics

Sort of like a light NYTIMES article. Useful, but not very deep. This is not Masha Gessen. It is not even Brookings Institute level.

Worth getting

A good book for anyone interested in political economics, although the narrator is a bit off (I’ve heard worse, though).

So much better than a news story

If you’re interested in current events, this is a great survey of modern Russia. It’s not too heavy but so much more insightful than media stories. I’ve lived through all the events in this book but don’t have time to pay close enough attention to string it all together. This book did that for me.

Worth Reading

My only criticism of the book was that a lot of material from the first half of the book gets repeated, sometimes more than once, unnecessarily in the latter half of the book. It’s a short book but could have been probably an hour shorter.

Very informative and detailed

Seems to be a lot of factual information presented in a non biased fashion. I really learned a lot. Good narration. very enjoyable

Informative Even if Skewed

Highly informative description of the Russian economy under the direct and indirect leadership of Vladimir Putin. Unfortunately it falls victim to the common practice of bias against Putin, although the author does manage to eek out some credit to the man maligned so frequently by the West. As a US citizen observing the actions of Russia under the leadership of Putin I am impressed. The government stands as an exemplary model of fiscal discipline, in stark contrast to the profligacy of the West.